Thursday, May 26, 2005

The "juice" that always seems to leak out of those packages of fresh chicken you bring home from the supermarket can make a big mess on your kitchen counter. But more importantly, the juice can pose a hazard to your health. Nasty microbes called Campylobacter jejuni can live in that liquid and on the skin of fresh, uncooked poultry.

Thoroughly cooking chicken --- by grilling, frying, roasting, or baking --- kills this food-poisoning microbe. But if you accidentally splash some of the raw juice on food that you'd planned to eat uncooked, such as leafy greens for a fresh salad, you'd be wise to throw them out. Here's why: If the microbe takes hold on those greens, as it is very adept at doing, you might be in for a case of campylobacteriosis food poisoning that you won't soon forget.

New research suggests that Campylobacter may actually originate in the chicken's lungs. Visit our latest edition of BLV Health Watch online to learn more.